Gatorade Drops Tiger (the Drink)
By Kenneth Hein
- After less than two years, Gatorade is dropping Tiger Focus from its portfolio. There has been a great deal of buzz around the announcement given its timing. However, the plans have been in the works for months.
(www.adweek.com)
PepsiCo Searches for Potato Chip of the Future
By Kenneth Hein
- What will the potato chip of the future look and taste like? PepsiCo aims to find out. The food and beverage giant announced this week that it is opening a new long-term research laboratory next to the Yale campus in New Haven, Conn.
- The facility will employ eight to 10 scientists with backgrounds ranging from sensory to biochemistry. Their goal: To create healthier foods and beverages
(www.brandweek.com)
Survey: Most CMOs To Boost Social Media Budgets in 2010 (And It Had Better Pay Off)
By Mark Walsh
- Nearly two-thirds of chief marketing officers plan to increase social media budgets in the next year, but they are also expecting more in return, according to a new study.
- The survey of 133 CMOs, conducted by social commerce company Bazaarvoice and the CMO Club, found that nearly three-quarters who didn’t attach revenue expectations to social media spending in 2009 will start doing so next year.
- This year, only 36% of companies tracked the impact of social media on conversions, and only 22% on revenue. But next year, 81% of CMOs expect social media investments to account for 10% of sales.
(www.mediapost.com)
Dell Rings Up $6.5 Million in Sales Using Twitter
By Connie Guglielmo
- Dell Inc., relying on social- networking sites to drum up sales of personal computers, said its promotions on Twitter have helped generate more than $6.5 million in orders for PCs, accessories and software.
- The number of users signing up to get Dell’s tweets has risen 23 percent in the past three months and now numbers 1.5 million, said Manish Mehta, vice president of Dell’s online unit.
- While those sales are a fraction of Dell’s $61.1 billion in annual revenue last year, the company sees Twitter as one of its most significant ways of interacting with customers, Mehta said.
(www.bloomberg.com)
Growth Returns to Global Ad Spending in 2010 — Modestly and Unevenly
By Nat Ives and Michael Bush
- Global ad spending will decline 10.2% in 2009 when the year is complete but eke out a 0.9% increase in the coming year, according to Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia
- The internet will overtake newspapers as the world’s second-largest ad medium by halfway through the coming decade, according to ZenithOptimedia
- The 70-country outlook forecasts ad expenditures will drop by 8% in the U.S. this year followed by a 4.3% drop off in 2010
(www.adage.com)
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